The mast steps on my 1980 FR 30 CK are essentially the same casting as the mast collar without the upper rim and with no holes drilled in the ears. That results in the masts sitting with a gap between the mast and the rim of the step. The literature I have seen shows the mast foot secured by two machine screws through the side of the casting at about 90 degrees to each other, tapped into the mast. This strikes me as being a pretty poor bit of engineering, confirmed by the scraping noise the mainmast makes every now and then when the boat is rolling downwind - the foot moves sideways. The mizzen hasn't moved ... yet - possibly because it needed repairs to the foot, so the mast wall is in much better condition to accept tapped holes. The mainmast let go of the screws soon after the boat went back into the water. There is, of course, more leverage on the main with its bigger sail and less length of mast between deck and step.

I'm curious to know what the mast step arrangement is on other 28/30 CKs.

Hi Andy, I think most of the early freedoms had the same tabernacle arrangement . I used to own a 1981 Fairways F35 wrap around sails Hull 107 and it had exactly the same base as yours. Eventually I had to trim about 1/4 inch off the base of the main (front) mast and build it back up with epoxy as the movement crumbled the mast wall badly. I never had a problem with the mizzen as it was much more deeply secured in the boat. The main doesn't have enough 'bury' and carries more sail area.

I now have a 1982 US built F44 hull 7 single ply full batten sails and again it has the same tabernacle arrangement inside except the masts have the gel coat peeled off the bottom couple of inches to fit more snugly into the collar and two pins securing them.This is the original way the masts were fitted because the mast wouldn't fit in the base collar if it wasn't peeled. Still though I get movement at the base . Thin wooden wedges (lollipop sticks) sort this most of the time but they will work out of place after a few weeks , especially in downwind rolly conditions. I might use silicone to fill the gap but as I often pull the masts I don't want to stick them permanently to the base !.

Thanks, gar. I'm thinking of packing the gap between the mast and the step - another use for thin plastic chopping boards. If I cut them the right size the bolts that don't hold the mast might at least stop the packing working its way out.